Copernic Desktop Search

When compared to Microsoft and Google, Copernic is hardly a household name. And yet it has one of the best Desktop search tools we’ve seen in years.

In common with the other programs reviewed here, it adds a small search bar to the Windows Taskbar. Tap in a search term, hit Enter and a window containing a list of results will pop up. The listed items are categorised (email, pictures, video and so on), with the best matches placed at the top. To open a found item in its associated application, double-click it. A further click will launch the main Copernic program window where more filtering options can be applied. Similarly, web results can be added to the mix with another mouse-click. It all fits together very neatly.

There are some downsides to Copernic, though. This free version doesn’t dish up search results as you type – a feature of Windows Search that we liked a lot and which is available in the Professional version (costing $49.95 – around £30). Also, it’s not so hot at finding files by the filename alone. Our advice would be to also install the Everything program and have the best of both worlds.